Kissing Under the Mistletoe Meaning a bit Different Than We Knew

Here's a Christmas spoiler for you. Mistletoe, the plant we know and love because we kiss under it at Christmas time, has an entirely different definition than we think.

According to the website Interflora, the original name for mistletoe was mistaltan. Mistal comes from the Anglo Saxon word for "dung" and tan means "stick." Thus, you are kissing under "dung on a stick!" Okay, that is yucky!

Come on, Mistletoe has been used to decorate homes since the 16th century. Don't spoil it now. It actually is a parasitic shrub that lives off other trees, and in medieval times was hung above doors to ward off ghosts, witches and other evil's.

Kissing under the Mistletoe is actually based on a Scandinavian mythological story of the Norse God Baldr which I won't go into, but suffice it to say today we kiss under the Mistletoe in a show of love and peace. Certainly not dung, that's for sure.

Want some more fun Christmas facts? There is a fun website called Best Life Online.com, and it has some great fun Christmas facts.

Here is just one example on the website.

We all remember the Christmas classic movie from 1983, A Christmas Story. Well, back then it was a young Peter Billingsley who starred in the movie as Ralphie, a typical suburban kid who celebrates a holiday filled with hilarious ups and downs with his family. Peter, of course grew up and in 2003, Billingsley popped up in another seasonal classic, Elf, as Ming Ming the toy-making supervisor in Santa's workshop. He's also appeared in other festive and non-festive films, including Four Christmases, Iron Man, and Spider-Man: Far from Home.

And you thought you knew it all.